1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a programming system for programmable hearing aids; and, more particularly relates to a portable hearing aid programming system utilizing a portable host computer in conjunction with a plug-in programming Card that is powered by the host computer and operates with a well-defined port to the host to download programs to a portable multiprogram unit for transmitting selected programs to programmable hearing aids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hearing aids have been developed to ameliorate the effects of hearing losses in individuals. Hearing deficiencies can range from deafness to hearing losses where the individual has impairment of responding to different frequencies of sound or to being able to differentiate sounds occurring simultaneously. The hearing aid in its most elementary form usually provides for auditory correction through the amplification and filtering of sound provided in the environment with the intent that the individual can hear better than without the amplification.
Prior art hearing aids offering adjustable operational parameters to optimize hearing and comfort to the user have been developed. Parameters, such as volume or tone, may easily be adjusted, and many hearing aids allow for the individual user to adjust these parameters. It is usual that an individual""s hearing loss is not uniform over the entire frequency spectrum of audible sound. An individual""s hearing loss may be greater at higher frequency ranges than at lower frequencies. Recognizing these differentiations in hearing loss considerations between individuals, it has become common for a hearing health professional to make measurements that will indicate the type of correction or assistance that will be the most beneficial to improve that individual""s hearing capability. A variety of measurements may be taken, which can include establishing speech recognition scores, or measurement of the individual""s perceptive ability for differing sound frequencies and differing sound amplitudes. The resulting score data or amplitude/frequency response can be provided in tabular form or graphically represented, such that the individual""s hearing loss may be compared to what would be considered a more normal hearing response. To assist in improving the hearing of individuals, it has been found desirable to provide adjustable hearing aids wherein filtering parameters may be adjusted, and automatic gain control (AGC) parameters are adjustable.
With the development of micro-electronics and microprocessors, programmable hearing aids have become wellknown. It is known for programmable hearing aids to have a digital control section which stores auditory parameters and which controls aspects of signal processing characteristics. Such programmable hearing aids also have a signal processing section, which may be analog or digital, and which operates under control of the control section to perform the signal processing or amplification to meet the needs of the individual.
Hearing aid programming systems have characteristically fallen into two categories: (a) programming systems that are utilized at the manufacturer""s plant or distribution center, or (b) programming systems that are utilized at the point of dispensing the hearing aid.
One type of programming system for programming hearing aids are the stand-alone programmers that are self-contained and are designed to provide the designed programming capabilities. Examples of the stand-alone programmers are the Sigma 4000, available commercially from Unitron of Kitchenor, Ontario, Canada, and the Solo II available commercially from dbc-mifco of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is apparent that stand-alone programmers are custom designed to provide the programming functions known at the time. Stand-alone programmers tend to be inflexible and difficult to update and modify, thereby raising the cost to stay current. Further, such stand-alone programmers are normally designed for handling a limited number of hearing aid types and lack versatility. Should there be an error in the system that provides the programming, such stand-alone systems tend to be difficult to repair or upgrade.
Another type of programming system is one in which the programmer is connected to other computing equipment. An example of cable interconnection programming systems is the Hi Pro, available from Madsen of Copenhagen, Denmark. A system where multiple programming units are connected via telephone lines to a central computer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,086 to J. C. Platt. Another example of a programming system that allows interchangeable programming systems driven by a personal computer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,674 to W. Meyer et al. Other U.S. patents that suggest the use of some form of computing device coupled to an external hearing aid programming device are U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,481 to Mansgold et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,086 to Platt; U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,312 to Newton et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,432 to Txc3x8tholm. Programming systems that are cable-coupled or otherwise coupled to supporting computing equipment tend to be relatively expensive in that such programming equipment must have its own power supply, power cord, housing, and circuitry, thereby making the hearing aid programmer large and not as readily transportable as is desirable.
Yet another type of hearing aid programmer available in the prior art is a programmer that is designed to install into and become part of a larger computing system. An example of such a plug-in system is available commercially and is known as the UX Solo available from dbc-mifco. Hearing aid programmers of the type that plug into larger computers are generally designed to be compatible with the expansion ports on a specific computer. Past systems have generally been designed to plug into the bus structure known as the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) which has primarily found application in computers available from IBM. The ISA expansion bus is not available on many present-day hand-held or lap top computers. Further, plugging cards into available ISA expansion ports requires opening the computer cabinet and appropriately installing the expansion card.
It can be seen then that the prior art systems do not readily provide for a hearing aid programming system that can be easily affixed to a personal computer such as a lap top computer or a hand-held computer for rendering the entire programming system easily operable and easily transportable. Further, the prior art systems tend to be relatively more expensive, and are not designed to allow modification or enhancement of the software while maintaining the simplicity of operation.
In addition, the prior art does not provide a portable hearing aid programmer that is dynamically reprogrammable from a hand-held computer through a PCMCIA port, and can be used by the hearing aid user to adjust hearing aid parameters for changing ambient sound conditions.
The primary objective of the invention in providing a small, highly transportable, inexpensive, and versatile system for programming hearing aids is accomplished through the use of host computer means for providing at least one hearing aid program, where the host computer means includes at least one uniformly specified expansion port for providing power circuits, data circuits, and control circuits, and a pluggable card means coupled to the specified port for interacting with the host computer means for controlling programming of at least one hearing aid, the programming system including coupling means for coupling the card means to at least one hearing aid to be programmed.
Another primary objective of the invention is to utilize a standardized specification defining the port architecture for the host computer, wherein the hearing aid programming system can utilize any host computer that incorporates the standardized port architecture. In this regard, the personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA) specification for the port technology allows the host computer to be selected from lap top computers, notebook computers, or hand-held computers where such PCMCIA ports are available and supported. With the present invention, it is no longer needed to provide general purpose computers, either at the location of the hearing health professional, or at the factory or distribution center of the manufacturer of the hearing aids to support the programming function.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a highly portable system for programming hearing aids to thereby allow ease of usage by hearing health professionals at the point of distribution of hearing aids to individuals requiring hearing aid support. To this end, the programming circuitry is fabricated on a Card that is pluggable to a PCMCIA socket in the host computer and is operable from the power supplied by the host computer.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved hearing aid programming system that utilizes standardized drivers within the host computer. In this aspect of the invention, the PCMCIA card means includes a card information structure (CIS) that identifies the host computer of the identification and configuration requirements of the programming circuits on the card. In one embodiment, the CIS identifies the PCMCIA Card as a serial port such that standardized serial port drivers in the host computer can service the PCMCIA Card. In another embodiment, the CIS identifies the PCMCIA Card as a unique type of hearing aid programmer card such that the host computer would utilize drivers supplied specifically for use with that card. In another embodiment, the CIS identifies the PCMCIA Card as a memory card, thereby indicating to the host computer that the memory card drivers will be utilized. Through the use of the standardized PCMCIA architecture and drivers, the PCMCIA Card can be utilized with any host computer that is adapted to support the PCMCIA architecture.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a hearing aid programming system that can be readily programmed and in which the adjustment programs can be easily modified to correct errors. In one aspect of the invention, the programming software is stored in the memory of a host computer and is available for ease of modification or debugging on the host computer. In operation, then, the programming software is downloaded to the PCMCIA Card when the Card is inserted in the host computer. In another embodiment, the programming software is stored on the PCMCIA Card in nonvolatile storage and is immediately available without downloading upon insertion of the Card. In this latter configuration and embodiment, the nonvolatile storage means can be selected from various programmable devices that may be alterable by the host computer. In one arrangement, the nonvolatile storage device is electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).
Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved hearing aid programming system wherein the hearing aid programming circuitry is mounted on a Card that meets the physical design specifications provided by PCMCIA. To this end, the Card is fabricated to the specifications of either a Type I Card, a Type II Card, or a Type III Card depending upon the physical size constraints of the components utilized.
Yet another objective of the invention is to provide an improved hearing aid programming system wherein the type of hearing aid being programmed can be identified. In this embodiment, a coupling means for coupling the hearing aid programming circuitry to the hearing aid or hearing aids being programmed includes cable means for determining the type of hearing aid being programmed and for providing hearing aid identification signals to the host computer.
A further objective of the invention is to provide an improved hearing aid programming system that allows a portable multiprogram unit to be programmed from a host computer via a PCMCIA interconnection. One or more selected hearing aid programs are generated and stored in this host computer, and are available to be downloaded through the PCMCIA Card to the multiprogram unit. Once programmed, the portable multiprogram unit can be decoupled from the PCMCIA interface and can be utilized to selectively program the hearing aids of a patient through a wireless transmission. Since multiple programs can be stored in the portable multiprogram unit, differing programs can be available for differing ambient conditions that affect the hearing of the patient. That is, the various hearing parameters can easily be reprogrammed by the patient to accommodate various surrounding conditions.
Still another objective of the invention is to provide an improved portable multiprogram unit that can be dynamically programmed via a PCMCIA interface to a portable host computer such that hearing aid programs for a plurality of different hearing conditions are stored. The portable multiprogram unit can then be utilized through a wireless transmission interface to program digital hearing aids of the patient, and allows the programming of the hearing aids to be changed through selective manipulation of the portable multiprogram unit by the patient.